Know Your Place
by JakeTheCat
Summary: Cardverse AU Elizabeta has been thrown into a loveless marriage with the King of Clubs and has difficulty adjusting to her new royal life. Feeling alone and worthless, she finds comfort in the other member of royalty, the Jack of Clubs. As their feelings grow, Elizabeta realizes that she may be putting kingdoms in danger for something as silly as love. M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. So um, this happened. I know I'm already working on _December _and adding another fic to work on is going to mess with my brain, but I had this idea and I just could not pass it up. I've been really into cardverse lately and I couldn't help but notice that pretty much all the cardverse fics are USUK which I personally ship, but I thought that some other characters could use some love. So I give you... whatever this is.**

**I do warn you now, this is much darker and more mature (rape, violence, language, overall content) than anything I have ever written, hence the rating. I don't plan on throwing M rated things in every chapter, but it _will_ be there and I want you all to be aware of that now. So, here you go everyone.**

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Chapter 1

She was being ridiculous.

How dare she be so ungrateful?

She was getting what every girl dreamed of. Granted, most girls wanted to be a princess before becoming a queen, but it was still an envious fantasy. Besides, if the girl knew what she was talking about, she knew that a princess tended to become a queen eventually.

She was just lucky; she got to skip the princess step.

The women assisting her were all speaking quickly as they all ran around the room to put this in her hair and that around her neck. One of them flung a silk green sash around her waist and tugged on it so hard that the girl had to gasp for air. Her mother, who was lounging on one of the chairs and waiting impatiently, quickly scolded her.

"Quiet, Elizabeta, let them do their work."

To obey these orders, Elizabeta merely nodded as she tried to find more air as her source was rapidly being depleted by that damn sash. Now they were yanking at her waves of auburn hair, shoving them up and under each other into some kind of arrangement that the locks refused to accept.

She tried to focus on something else, something that would make her happy, but the confines of that white gown strangled her and she could only wait to let it suffocate her. Perhaps then her mother would be satisfied with her silence.

One of the maids, a girl who seemed barely a teenager, looked up at her.

"Why don't you smile, my lady?" she asked curiously, "It's your wedding day."

"She's delighted," the mother answered for her, "Right, Elizabeta?"

Knowing the consequences of arguing, Elizabeta forced a fake smile and nodded.

"More than I ever have been," she murmured.

The maid didn't seem convinced and looked worried as she began to return to what the other women were yelling at her to do.

She thought she heard one of the maids make a snide comment about her being unappreciative of the honor she had been bestowed. In honesty, she had probably had heard correctly. Any woman of her nobility would do anything to be where she was. She was about to marry Ivan Braginski, the King of Clubs, and she was groveling in her own self-pity like a child. She'd been prepared for this since birth, her mother putting everything on hold in order to ensure that her daughter could become the future queen.

But she didn't love Ivan.

She'd met him a few times before and every time he never seemed very interested in her. They would speak and share their opinions but it was all on the surface; they knew nothing about each other. Of course she was shocked when news arrived that he'd chosen her to be his bride since the two didn't seem to share a spark. Maybe he had felt something that she hadn't.

Her mother had told her that she would come to love Ivan over time. Most arranged marriages worked that way and over a few years she would become happy in her life and she'd wonder how she could be acting so ridiculously now. She only hoped that could happen.

Suddenly, there was a sounding of trumpets from outside and all the maids began to panic, hurrying to finish attending to Elizabeta before she was to walk down the aisle. The finishing touches were placed and the maids scattered to let her walk into her tomb.

She suddenly remembered her mother and looked to the side, hoping to find one last shred of comfort before she sealed her doom. But the woman had vanished, along with the maids, to go into the ceremony and voluntarily offer her daughter to a complete stranger.

Her father had died years ago, so there was no warm arm to link through hers as she walked down the aisle. She would face this alone.

One more glimpse around the room: the lavish furniture her mother had been sprawled on, the few remains the maids had left behind and a large mirror in the corner showing her someone that she did not recognize.

And then the doors swung open and the trumpets blared again and the hundreds, if not thousands of guests, turned to look at her.

She'd never felt so weak in her life.

The piano began and she remembered how to walk again, forcing herself to move forward down the aisle that seemed to stretch for miles. Her hands trembled as she clung to the bouquet of flowers, listening to the soft whispers that were said amongst the audience.

"_Well she looks lovely." "She seems a little timid for a queen, doesn't she?" "She doesn't seem like someone Prince – I mean King Ivan would be interested in."_

It took all her strength not to break down at such comments and after what felt like years, she made it to her destination.

Ivan stood as tall and proud as ever, newly clothed in the robes of the king. His coronation had taken place just before, though Elizabeta wasn't allowed to attend as she had to prepare for the wedding. The richly decorated outfit of multiple shades of green made him look more regal and intimidating than she had remembered. His violet eyes stared deep into hers; despite a friendly surface, she could sense the darkness beneath them.

At his side was Roderich Edelstein, the Jack of Clubs. Nowhere nearly as extravagant as the new king, the Jack still looked proper and noble, standing upright with his cane and watching the ceremony with bespectacled orbs. Elizabeta knew less about him than she did the King, but he'd been polite and chivalrous to her in their rare encounters together.

The two made eye contact and he gave her a polite nod, which she returned before averting her attention back to Ivan, who seemed rather suspicious.

Elizabeta didn't pay attention to anything the priest said as he married her to Ivan. She thought of her time as a child, when she'd sneak out of her etiquette lessons to go romp in the fields with the boys, or when her dad would carry her on his shoulders and run around in the sunshine. The freedom she'd had then, now being thrown in shackles. She apologized silently to her father and begged him for forgiveness.

She didn't know when she'd said "I do" but it appeared that she had, because now Ivan was kissing her and she didn't know what to do. Her mother had told her that she'd learn to love him, but in that kiss she knew it wasn't possible. It was bitter and wrong and harsh and she couldn't pretend to return it.

When he'd broken it off, the audience was cheering wildly and the band was beginning to blare its music again, but Elizabeta only noticed Ivan's face and how the expression he wore sent chills down her spine. She wanted to scream, but she could only wear a smile as he linked his arms with hers and led her down the aisle, Roderich following behind to complete the royal trio.

Sometime in the process, Elizabeta had realized she'd become Queen and had received a crown a top her head that didn't fit very comfortably. At least she could take it off later when she was asleep.

Now she had been thrown to dinner with her new husband, Roderich and the other royals from the kingdoms of Spades, Hearts and Diamonds. They'd all attended the wedding, as was tradition with marriage in any of the four kingdoms, despite the current tension between Clubs and Spades. The latter had a rather cocky King who seemed to rub Ivan in all the wrong directions. Elizabeta thought his name was Alfred, but she couldn't remember for sure.

"So, _Queen _Elizabeta, how'd you get Ivan to choose you as his bride?"

She looked up to see that none other than the King of Spades had been speaking to her. Oh great. She'd never had any particular experience in speaking to the kings and queens of other kingdoms before or even know their names for that matter.

"Alfred, leave my wife alone," Ivan said with a venomous smile on his face, "She's new to all this. You don't see me pestering your beloved, do you?"

So she had been right about the king's name; perhaps her memory was better than she gave it credit for. But now the Queen of Spades, Arthur if her memory was indeed so accurate, was in a huff.

"Though I agree with the fact that my husband was a little vulgar in his manner," Arthur said in that funny accent that Elizabeta wondered where he'd acquired it, "I also agree that he would like an answer to his question."

"Just because he is a king does not make him God," Ivan spat, "And he should remember that."

"Lift your spirits, my friend; this is a time of celebration, no?"

The King of Diamonds had interjected, realizing that starting a war at the dinner table was unwise for any of the participating kingdoms. Elizabeta exhaled with relief as the charismatic man began to put the other two kings at ease.

She stayed silent as she picked at the heap of food on her plate, dishes with names she couldn't pronounce and ones she wasn't sure if they were completely edible. As she was attempting to select the first one to taste, the Jack of Diamonds said something that caught her ear.

"Clubs now has a male and female set of rulers, unlike Spades and Hearts. While we do in Diamonds, my Queen is forbidden from child bearing until the age deemed appropriate by our parents. Perhaps it will be Clubs then that has the first legitimate heir in decades?"

Had she been eating, Elizabeta would have surely choked. She'd only just been married and now the possibility of children was being brought up. It was true that Hearts and Spades were led by only men, and that the Queen of Diamonds had only been allowed to marry upon the condition that she wouldn't have children until she was somewhere in her mid-twenties (though she didn't know that the girl was sisters to the Jack). But why did they have to suddenly throw this at her? She'd just been crowned and married to someone she didn't love or want to have children with for that matter.

"I don't think that is of utmost importance," Roderich interrupted, "We don't ask your sister about such personal things."

"I don't believe you were the one being addressed," the other Jack snapped back.

Elizabeta felt dizzy; she couldn't handle them all fighting about her, her sudden status and marriage, and she was pretty sure that sash had only tightened around her waist. If she didn't do something, she was going to throw up.

"Excuse me," she said suddenly as she pushed herself away from the table and stood up, walking towards the door.

"Your Highness?" Roderich called, looking over at her perplexed.

The rest of the royals had stopped speaking and were now watching as the new Queen of Clubs ran from the table, from her duty, for reasons they did not understand.

She didn't know where she was going; she just needed to get away. The large hallways decorated with marvelous paintings and chandeliers all looked the same and she couldn't remember which one she'd been in earlier. A stray maid happened to stumble upon her and, after attempting to convince her to go back to dinner, led her to her room.

The girl immediately collapsed on the oversized bed, tearing that damned sash off and taking in an enormous breath of air as the tears began to sting at her eyes. So far she hadn't been very good at being a queen. She'd already run off from her first royal duty, despite it being something as trivial as a dinner, and was back to wallowing in her self-pity.

It really was pathetic. She'd always been so strong and independent as a child but now she felt useless. She had to regain that mentality, to become who she always had been. This weak creature she had become could be destroyed; she wasn't broken so easily. She'd go back to that dinner and prove to them all that she was going to be a great and powerful queen to be feared and taken seriously. Her dad had always bragged about how his Elizabeta was stronger and braver than most of the boys and it was true. Nobody was going to make a joke out of her. Not then and not now.

She got up to go and make this clear to everyone, but the door had already opened and Ivan had stepped in. To be honest, this startled her and she lost some of her confidence at first, but she quickly regained it.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as he closed the door, "What about the guests?"

"I sent them away," he said as if it was nothing unusual.

"Oh?"

"I wanted to spend time with my wife."

The chills ran down her spine again, the same way they had when he'd looked at her after her wedding. He didn't look at her as if she was his wife; it was more of the look of a predator watching its prey.

By now he'd crossed the floor and made his way to her side, reaching out a hand to stroke the few pieces of hair that had escaped from their confinement. Elizabeta trembled at his touch, and not in the way a lover should tremble. This was pure fear. His eyes wandered and he noticed that she had removed the sash from her waist.

"Oh," he purred, "I see you started for me."

Her eyes widened in horror as his hand covered mouth, silencing the protests he knew she was going to scream. His other hand darted to her back, ripping apart the laces that held her dress together as if they were the thinnest of strings. She truly did try to fight back, kicking and clawing at him with all her might, but the man had more strength in one arm then she did in her whole body. She finally clamped her teeth down on the hand covering her mouth, causing him to swear and remove the offending limb.

With this newfound freedom, she darted to the other side, forgetting that his hand was still on the back of her dress. With terrible luck, he'd already ruined the laces enough so that they merely fell apart, causing the dress to slide off her body as she stumbled to the other side of the room, tripping over that evil fabric that had put her in this situation.

She leant against the wall, now clad in only her wedding lingerie, trembling violently and watching Ivan horrified. His animalistic glare had only intensified and now he was pushing his own robes off as well.

"You will be broken," he breathed.

He lunged for her then, causing her to shriek as she leapt the other direction, banging herself into a dresser. With impressive stamina, Ivan had repositioned himself and succeeded in grabbing her. The screams began again and it was difficult for him to cover her mouth while carrying her to the bed. After much struggling, he was victorious in pinning her to the bed, stripping her of her clothes and any shred of dignity she had left.

Elizabeta knew that he'd won once she felt him inside of her. At that moment, she had lost. The screaming faded, the struggling ended. He'd beaten her and ravaged her; there was no hope of return now. She was his property now and there was nothing she could do about it.

When he was through with her, he got off of the bed and began to redress, ignoring the fact that his wife was shaking and whimpering softly. Once clothed, he leaned over and placed a poisonous kiss on her cheek.

"And now you are mine," he said simply, that common trace of cruelty evident in his voice.

After that, he got up and left without another word. To his surprise, he ran into the Jack of Clubs upon exiting. The man stood straight with his cane, his eyes narrow as he bowed politely to his King.

"Your Majesty," he said at the surprised look on Ivan's face.

"What brings you to Her Majesty's chambers?" he asked suspiciously.

"I was walking to my quarters," Roderich replied stiffly, "I assume you were doing the same."

"Of course…"

Roderich nodded and began to walk away, much to the king's surprise. No one had ever dared to act that way towards him.

"Roderich," he called.

The Jack stopped and looked back at him.

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"You are not a King or Queen," he hissed, "You are Jack. I advise you not to stick your nose where it does not belong."

Roderich stood still for a moment, Ivan feeling rather smug about himself. Eventually, the Jack bowed and gave a curt nod.

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

He continued to walk towards his own quarters, trying to ignore the venom that had just been spat in his eyes. He'd been used to it for a while now, but with the entrance of a queen, things felt different.

Ivan was right; he was just a Jack and didn't have nearly the amount of power the other did. But he still helped to rule this kingdom and wasn't completely useless.

So he kept going forward, past the room the king had just left where a broken girl lay weeping over her new life that would never change.

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**Shit you guys. That last part was _the hardest thing _I have ever had to write in my whole life. I felt like such a horrible person and it was just not something I'm used to writing. It was kind of a draining experience but I really like the idea of this plot and hope you all do too. **

**So please leave a review so I can know what you thought, or follow/favorite it if you like. Either way, I appreciate all your feedback and will see you either in the next update of this or that of _December._**


	2. Chapter 2

**Holy crap it's been a while. Thank you so much for the response to the last chapter, it means so much and I'm glad so many of you seem to enjoy it. I got kind of stuck for some reason but I think I managed to get back on track. This chapter is shorter than the previous, but it's still pretty important. So sorry for the long delay but I hope this somewhat makes up for it. If not, I apologize in advance but I do hope to make it up to you all at some point within the fic, whether it's now or in the very ending (which won't even be for a while so...) Oh well, see you at the end~**

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Chapter 2

The morning light was cold as it hit Elizabeta in the eyes, causing her to let out a rather unattractive sound; the maid who had opened the curtains made no comment.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," she said as she began to draw open the rest of the curtains in the room, "I trust you slept well."

If only Elizabeta was permitted to speak the truth.

In actuality, she had only just fallen asleep before being so rudely awakened. The events of last night had haunted her and she feared that the torment would continue in her subconscious, so she remained awake as long as possible to escape the possibility.

"A bath is being drawn," the maid continued, "And afterwards breakfast should be ready."

Too bad none of this mattered to her. If she was able to, Elizabeta would have laid in that bed and never left, just patiently wait for death to take her somewhere better than this hell she was now imprisoned in.

"Your Majesty?"

Elizabeta realized that she was probably worrying the maid by not responding, so she decided that she might as well get up and make a heaven out of her hell. She took one step from the bed and immediately collapsed, a shriek escaping her mouth.

"Your Highness!"

The maid darted over to her side to see what had happened, only to stumble upon the ugly truth.

Horrible scratches and bruises painted the girl's body in more places than she thought possible. Her eyes darted to the bed to realize that the sheets were stained with blood and even torn in some places. The queen must have been so weakened that she couldn't even stand up properly, hence why she was unable to get out of the bed.

Now she was a heap of sobs, attempting to cover her battered body in hopes of retrieving her stolen pieces of dignity.

Not knowing what to do, the maid reached out and pat the girl on the head in an attempt of soothing her. Elizabeta only cringed away in fear.

"Majesty, a bath will do wonder for your wounds," she said weakly, "Allow me to take you there."

In all honesty, a bath did sound quite nice to Elizabeta; something warm to wrap around her and comfort her, even if it was just water.

"O-okay…"

It was a challenge, but the maid was able to help the new queen to her feet and support her all the way to the bath. The girl would want her privacy, so the maid left to return to her chambers in order to take care of the soiled sheets.

It wasn't her place to question what the royalty did, but she couldn't help but pity the poor girl now lying in that tub and she could only be grateful that she wasn't in her place. As she contemplated what to do with sheets that were covered in blood, there was a rather aggressive knock at the door that made her jump nervously. Hopefully it wasn't the king because he was most likely the culprit of the actions against Queen Elizabeta.

To her surprise, the maid opened the door to not the king, but the Jack of Clubs, looking rather panicked for someone known for always being calm and composed.

"Can I help you, Your Grace?" she asked rather confused.

Roderich straightened his back and adjusted his spectacle before speaking, regaining that aristocratic look he was famous for.

"I thought I hear a cry from the queen's quarters," he explained, "Is everything alright?"

Again, the maid realized she had to stay in her place. She couldn't tell anyone, not even the Jack, of what she had witnessed. Doing so could put her job and even her life at risk.

"Oh no, Your Grace. Everything is just fine here. I'd have the queen confirm this, but she just went into the bath."

He raised a brow, but nodded and left without any further questioning. There was no doubt in his mind that he had heard a shout from the room that held the new queen. But then again, he'd need to speak to her in order to prove it true.

Yet she could always lie to him. It wasn't a woman's place to reveal secrets that might compromise her image. So in truth, he'd probably never know for sure. He hoped that at least she was okay. As he walked, a maid was coming from the other direction.

"You there," he said, "Bring Her Majesty's breakfast to her room. She will dine in there."

The least the girl could use was a small act of kindness.

"Yes, Your Grace," the maid said before scurrying off to the kitchen.

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The realization came to her after she had taken her bath. She had gotten out of the lukewarm water and went to reach for her robe when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. And what a sight it was.

Those long, never-ending legs covered in the marks of affection Ivan had given her, the curves of her hips only made more beautiful with those pretty red lacerations. The black and blue and brown of the bruises made her so vibrant with all that color that any woman would be jealous. Oh, how pretty.

It was all that mattered anyway. That beautiful face, the always flowing hair, her ample breasts. That was why Ivan had chosen her; he hadn't really seemed to care much about anything else that had to do with her. He'd never asked her what her interests were, what she loved and hated, what she wanted to do with her life. She'd been like some prize cattle, inspected for its appearance and chosen solely on that.

"Thank God I'm pretty," she spat.

She stared longer, inspecting herself the way Ivan had. Though he wasn't gifted with seeing her nude the first time. But he had gotten that last night, so it didn't matter anyway.

"I'm truly privileged to look this good without clothes on."

After all, she still looked just as lovely while wearing clothing, so at least Ivan wouldn't be deceived. It was such a gift; if only she had been ugly underneath under all that fabric. Perhaps then Ivan wouldn't have made her queen. But she was lucky; he didn't take that in account and made her his wife anyway.

"Thank you, God," she hissed.

Such a lovely girl, given such a wonderful position. And all because she'd been graced with such beauty.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

She was crying now, sinking to her knees as the tears burned her eyes. The only thing that could stop her was the knock at the door, which quickly brought her to her feet. After putting the robe on, she opened the door to see the maid again, looking nervous.

"Is everything alright?" she asked worriedly.

"Yes, certainly," Elizabeta replied with a stiff lip.

"Oh, alright. Well, breakfast has been brought to your room. I'm sure you're hungry."

Elizabeta blinked in surprise and craned her neck around to get a glimpse of her bed, where there was a ridiculous amount of food placed on multiple trays. In all honesty, she was starving, so she quickly made her way over and began to eat as quickly as she could whilst retaining her manners.

"Wasn't I supposed to eat with the king?" she asked after finishing a biscuit.

"Originally, yes," the maid replied, "But a fellow maid received orders from His Grace to bring your meal here. I'm sure he wants you to feel comfortable on your first morning as queen."

The words made Elizabeta pause. That was right – she was Queen now. The Queen of Clubs to be exact. She sighed and put her half-eaten scone back on the tray.

"Perhaps he does," she hissed, "How thoughtful."

The maid could sense the tension and shrunk back slightly, wishing she could hide herself in her blonde hair or just run away. But that was unacceptable, so she remained and tried to keep her spine strong.

"Oh well," Elizabeta sighed, "But I never caught your name; how rude of me."

"What?" the maid asked surprised.

Usually the royalty never bothered to ask the names of servants – it wasn't like they socialized, so there was no point in becoming familiar with one another. Yet Elizabeta seemed to be different.

"Your name," Elizabeta repeated, "What is it?"

"Bella," the maid said warily, "I've been assigned to look after your room, but if that's a problem I'm sure that –"

"No, no, it's not a problem at all. I like you and have no plans of getting rid of you."

Bella's face flushed, unused to such compliments from a member of royalty, especially not the queen.

"Do you mind if I ask your age?" Elizabeta inquired, "You seem rather young."

"I'm seventeen, Your Highness," she replied.

"Only two years younger than me."

The queen allowed a smile to find its way on her face, her heart warming to find someone close to her age and in the same situation (well, at least living in the same place that is) as her. Perhaps they could even become friends.

Bella returned the smile, but suddenly seemed to realize something and began to hurry to the door.

"Sorry, Your Majesty," she said quickly, "I must inform the king of your status and see if he requests your presence. I will only be a moment."

And just like that, the glimmer of hope was gone and Elizabeta was left alone in the darkness of her inescapable prison. She sunk back down into the heap of pillows and took a deep breath. Even if that spark was gone, Bella would return and she might be able to resume the possible friendship with her maid.

Despite everything that had happened last night, there was at least one ray of happiness shining on her and she couldn't feel more grateful at that moment if she tried.

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**Woo end of chapter two! I feel like that took way too long but hey, at least it's done. Really quick, the whole scene with Elizabeta sarcastically loving her beauty was inspired by the song _Thank God I'm Pretty _by Emilie Autumn - it's a great song and I thought it really fit the way our heroine currently feels. If you want to understand what I mean by that better you can go ahead and look up the song if you want.**

**So yeah, not a _ton _of stuff happening yet, but there were some key things that will come into play later. Also, Bella is Belgium for those unsure but there is no relationship to the country of Belgium since this is an AU fic. I don't think there's any other information I need to give right now, but I look forward to hearing your responses. Please leave a review or favorite or follow or anything you like, it means the world to me and helps me keep writing. Until next time!**


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